Bangladesh,
officially the People's Republic of Bangladesh, is located in South
Asia. It is surrounded by India on all sides except for a small
border with Myanmar to the far southeast and the Bay of Bengal to
the south. The country has a long cultural and political history.
Europeans began to set up trading posts in the area of Bangladesh in
the 16th century; eventually the British came to dominate the region
and it became part of British India. In 1947, West Pakistan and East
Bengal separated from the Indian-subcontinent and jointly became the
new country of Pakistan. East Pakistan seceded from its union with
West Pakistan in 1971 and was renamed "Bangladesh".